The UK's central bank, founded 1694 and granted independence in 1997, sets UK interest rates and supervises its financial system, making its rate decisions a global bond-market variable.

The UK's official currency, the fourth most-traded globally, whose value signals the market's confidence in British fiscal and monetary policy.

Sterling-denominated UK government bonds issued by HM Treasury, the mechanism that funds Britain's annual deficit and refinances its nearly £3 trillion debt stock.